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The rationale is that your diet will work perfectly fine for shedding the fat. You will be able to lose a few lbs per week without a problem. The only purpose that the training serves is to at least maintain muscle mass. Furthermore, providing you choose the right exercises and work brutally hard on your sets, minimal volume is necessary for such a purpose and even gaining muscle mass.

The additional benefit applying specifically to your case is that the training regimen will definitely be something that you can stick to without a doubt. You will get great results by summer, and you will be able to keep what you worked so hard for.

As for program specifics, I like the ones where you only workout a few times per week at the most. Not only is it convenient, but I also believe that it really isn't necessary to do more.

Another strategy that I like is to do the workouts in a sequence fashion such that your workouts don't necessarily fall on a scheduled day. For example, if you rest 4 days between workouts, a sequence might look like this: monday, friday, tuesday, saturday, wednesday, and so on. Then if for some reason something comes up and you miss a workout, you can easily just pick up where you left off on the following day without messing up your "schedule", because the workouts weren't supposed to fall on an exact day anyways.

The benefits of training like that are obvious. If you miss a workout it isn't going to kill your whole plan. If anything it will just give you an extra day to rest, recover, and build new muscle. And if your schedule is hectic or changing, this is the solution to the problem.

The thing I realized most recently is that there really is no mystery to getting ripped. Even if one only had to lose say 10-20 lbs to get there, what would motivate them to actually DO it?

Because the fact is that you can ask all the questions you want all day long. I have been there. But the fact remains that the requirements for fat loss never change just like how 2 + 2 = 4 and what goes up must come down. Once you know that, all you have to do is apply the knowledge in the real world and actually DO it.

What will motivate you to do it? I have heard from a natural competitor named Bert Harrop that competing really changed his life. What's the real deal with competing? If you have a contest date ahead of you, you will definitely think twice when making your choice of food to eat. It will also make you want to workout 10 times harder when you are in the gym.

By now you know that it isn't about losing 10 lbs per week and getting ripped in a month. Its more about continuous application of the knowledge necessary to get you the desired results, all the way up until contest day. And even after the contest, a good natural bodybuilder would still know how to keep themselves in line for the most part all year long.

Just a thought. That's what I've been thinking about myself. Because I'm already in pretty good shape. But I'm starting to realize that a contest might be the way to go in order to keep myself in line enough to actually get ripped.

By the way, based on the pictures I think you are actually in pretty good shape. All you would need to do is focus on getting stronger in the gym in order to build some better muscles. And in the mean time, eat right in order to get rid of a few lbs of fat. You really don't have much fat to lose at all!

I wouldn't bother trusting the composition scales either. I hear they aren't that accurate. But the tape measure and the mirror are. The scale can be a good one too. You can use it to tell if you are gaining or losing too fast or even if you are at all.

thank you so much for your reply's.its nice to know im actually getting somewhere.
here's been my problem for the last few years.

top picture is me every winter for the last 4 years when i get lazy.

bottom pic is me every summer last 4 years when i get my bum in gear.

charles,i think you maybe right,and start looking into competing,to try and stay in shape all year round.i just feel to inexperienced to compete,as ive never been able to get ripped in the past 4 years.

its nice to know im actually getting somewhere. . .
top picture is me every winter for the last 4 years when i get lazy. . .
bottom pic is me every summer last 4 years when i get my bum in gear.

I think you are in a lot better shape than you think, especially in your summer pics. And I can honestly tell you that you wouldn't be too far away from contest shape.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slimshad7

charles,i think you maybe right,and start looking into competing,to try and stay in shape all year round.

The only reason why you failed in the past to stay in shape all year long is because you quit. That's the only reason. And like I mentioned before, you have to have a program you can stick to.

As for showing further improvements and getting ripped, I definitely think competition could help with that. It probably would help encourage you to do better with everything and to stick to it in the winter. Perhaps your winter pics in the worst case scenario would look like your previous summer pics, and your new summer pics would be your contest ones. Its all about putting better standards on yourself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slimshad7

i just feel to inexperienced to compete,as ive never been able to get ripped in the past 4 years.

I've always felt that way too, until now in later years I realize that anyone can do it, especially because they have different weight classes. You can weigh 150 and still compete. You don't have to be like the guys on the covers of the magazines either. They have natural bodybuilding contests.

I never did a bodybuilding contest, but I have done a few strongman contests and several powerlifting contests. And what I can tell you about competition is that you learn as you go. I felt like I wasn't ready at first. But then my coaches/friends told me to do it. So I did. You end up meeting others who compete, people you can really learn from, and you get better as you go.

To tell you the truth, I learned a lot more from hanging out with guys like that than I ever did talking to folks on the internet. One of my friends a few years back gave me a dirt simple diet plan that worked without a problem, meanwhile everyone on the internet is thinking it has to be so complex as if there is some mystery to fat loss or something. There isn't.

Anyways, my point about competing in any sport is that you learn as you go. Most guys I hear who think they want to compete, they often want to get bigger first. But that I think is a big mistake because one would miss out on the learning experience. The guy who starts off as a light weight is going to be much better off in the long run and do a lot better than the guy who waited.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slimshad7

im hoping i can do it this year,from what ive learnt from the last 4

You can do it. You know how to do it. Its easy. You just have to keep yourself in line. It really is simple stuff.

This kind of makes me recall what it was like when I first started dieting properly a few years ago, keeping carbs in the diet, high protein, and low fat. What I realized then was that when you do it right, it really is a lot easier eat right than it is not to. I know that sounds nuts and contradictory to what most people believe, but it really is true. Because when you eat junk and only say 3 meals per day, you never really feel full and you always end up going hungry between meals. But if you eat the right foods and often enough, you end up feeling full and satisfied all the time because you are giving your body what it really needs. Heck, when I first started I was using protein shakes with water to make up the extra 2 meals on top of the regular 3, and I still felt great, a lot better than before. I was even consuming less calories, but I felt way better.

That really does remind me a lot of what I learned from Clarence Bass. The thing is your body has to feel like its getting plenty of food in order for it to allow fat loss to occur. And the only way you can do that is by actually eating. You aren't going to be able to keep muscle and get down to say 3-5% like Clarence by not eating. It just isn't going to work.

ive been offered some ephedrine today to help with getting rid of the fat.

way to go??or stay away???

Short answer = stay away! Just eat good. That's all you need. It's the only thing that will really give you the best long term results. It's been proven ever since the invention of humans and food. And that fact won't change.